Algood City Council awarded an estimated $1.5 million bid Tuesday to replace waterlines along Main Street.
Algood City Administrator Keith Morrison said the project will replace the current waterline with a 12-inch line. The project starts at City Hall, turns down Main Street, and will also go down First Avenue to connect to Shenandoah Lane and proceed out to Durant Street. Morrison said the project will improve water flow and water quality.
“We have customers on Main Street who are having water quality issues,” Morrison said. “There’s not enough in the line left to be able to flush it. It just creates more problems, so this will fix all of that.”
Morrison said the project will add additional shutoffs, water hydrants, and give the city the ability to backfeed the lines in three different directions.
Morrison said the project will also abandon a waterline near Barky Beaver Soil & Mix and add about five houses to the new waterline.
Morrison said the city will work with the contractor to try and limit the disruptions throughout the project.
“We will work through there as fast as we can to limit interference with those as best we can,” Morrison said. “So we will work on those sections to where we still allow them to have parking and try to work with them to interfere minimally as best as we can.”
Morrison said the plan is to have construction performed during the day, but may look to have some of the project performed at night to reduce the impact on businesses.
The council asked how the city would pay for the project, as it was not a budgeted project. Morrison said the city will use funding from capital projects to cover the cost.
“We’ve got the money in the bank to do it, so we’ve got about $4.5 million in there, so we will be fine,” Morrison said. “Yeah, we will reduce it, but you are talking about an enterprise fund, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a capital project in the ground or cash in the bank. The state looks at them the same. The problem is I’ve got to account for depreciation. So after the year is up, I’ve got to put this on the books and start depreciating it. That’s where I’ve got to be careful, and right now we have looked at the projections, and we are still good.”
The council asked if the line needed to be replaced immediately or if it could wait. One resident described the water quality as being orange colored. Public Works Director Walt Bradshaw said it’s time to do the project.
“The line has been in there since the 50s,” Bradshaw said. “And like they were saying last night, you know, you start out with a four-inch line and then you’ve got some spots, you know, it’s just swelled together from debris and calcium buildup.”
Morrison said there were other bidders, but they failed to meet the bid requirements. Morrison said the city expects the project to take about a year to complete.
In other business, an estimated $49,900 bid was awarded to replace the roof on top of the Public Works Shop.
Three members were appointed to the Algood Board of Zoning Appeals. Patt Judd, Bill Benson, and John Roberts. Roberts will replace Shawna Whitefield on the board. Terms for all three members will expire in 2028.
Council approved a resolution to support asking state legislators to allow annexation by majority property owner consent rather than having to send an annexation request to referendum if 2/3 of property owners provide written consent.
Council approved a resolution to support asking state legislators to restore the historic revenue-sharing relationship between municipalities and the state regarding the single article cap sales tax. Morrison said restoring the relationship could add $75,000-$100,000 in revenue to the city’s budget each year.
Council approved an ordinance amendment on first reading to allow duplexes and two-family residential structures as a conditional use in R-1 Low Density Residential and as a permitted use in R-2 Medium Density Residential zones. Morrison said the ordinance change was requested by the planning commission. The council approved the reading, with Mayor Lisa Chapman-Fowler and Council Member Luke Hill voting against the approval.
